Earpiece speaker trouble after LCD replacement

Hello guys, let me explain you what is going on.

You all know, when you play a voice note/audio on whatsapp you will listen the audio coming from the loudspeaker, but when you put your phone on your ear you would listen the audio coming from the earpiece speaker.

The thing is, yesterday I replaced the LCD because the outter glass was broken; now the audio from whatsapp is always playing out from the loudspeaker, even when I put it close to my ear.

2 Answers

Did you do a "small parts comes on the screen assembly" or did you transfer everything over from the broken part? If you transferred everything over from your old screen you may have not got the little gold tabs on the prox flex aligned with the spring connections on the ear speaker. The metal cover that covers the ear speaker could also be screwed tighter than needs to be or loose.

Also, during transfer the prox/front facing camera flex may have been torn or damaged in some way. Inspect it or replace it. Check the connectors on the prox flex and logic board to see if any damage has occurred, the connections are easy to smash down when reconnecting.

White lines are do to (a.) digitizer not plugged in correctly (b.) damaged LCD during the operation (c.) damaged connectors.

Do the lines look digital or are they all over the place. Can you attach picture?

Did the prox sensor work before you went back in the device? The prox, if it is still attached (may have been ripped off the flex), may be misaligned to the window on the front of the screen. Did you use the little metal square that was on the original screen? Some new replacement screens do not come with these attached so you have to transfer them.

Lastly, you may have to replace the prox flex. Order two in case one is bad. They are cheap $5-$10.

Those lines are from the digitizer not being connected correctly. I have received replacement screens that would have this pattern and could not get rid of it so I returned them for a swap. But try to plug them in again after you have inspected the connectors on the motherboard and screen.

The plastic bezel aligns the prox to the window. Some techs leave these out and the prox will work. I have done both. When left out the prox would sometimes not work so I just started putting them in all the time-saves time opening the device back up.

The gold contacts have to be spot on to the spring connectors on the ear speaker.

A thought about buying screens with the small parts on them. I have bought screens with the small parts on them and have ended up replacing those various small parts because a prox or camera wouldn't work. Also, the prox flex would ground out and "red screen" the device or throw up the white text at the top.

@frankjames I guess I lost that transparent plastic bezel because it is not on my old screen :/ nevermind, I will replace the prox flex and see what happens, anyway, how tight to each other do the gold contacts have to be? because in my case they are in contact but not totally together.

You want a little distance between-don't tighten too much. Watch as you turn the screw and when the metal plate starts to move turn about one full rotation of the screw. You should be able to see the gold springs and tell the coils are not compressed all the way.

If you drop those bezels they are hard to find on the floor. You can buy them online for $2.99. You can go without it, just gets a little aggravating if the screen stays lit when you are on the phone.

Yes Carlos. It will keep it aligned in the notch of the plastic frame housing on the screen assembly. It has to be oriented the right direction though. The angled part has to be facing the left if I am not mistaken. Like I said earlier, I have had techs leave them out and the prox would work fine. It is a hit and miss thing though. One trick is to put it on the proximity sensor "box" on the flex itself. Trying to glue the bezel to the screen (glass) is risky. Glue may get everywhere and it may be misaligned and then you have to pull it up making a big mess out of it. Somebody may have a trick for this out there, I would like to hear it. When positioning the prox in it's home just be careful that the bezel doesn't fall off, they rarely do.

@frankjames I am here again to let you know the problem has been fixed; I bought the plastic frame housing and the flex cable.

First I tried replacing the transparent frame but I was sure there was something not in place; tuto pictures did not match with what I was seeing, there was a small square in my phone that were not in the pictures. Never mind, I tried that anyway and obviously did not work at all.

Secondly I replaced the flex and I noticed something different between the new flex and the original flex of my phone. Well, the first time I opened up my phone (before I post this whole question) I broke the piece of the flex that goes on the plastic frame, got stuck in the plastic frame attached to the phone and that is why it stopped working (photo attached). So I took away the flex, took away the plastic frame with the little square, fitted in the plastic frame in the new flex and replaced it. After I replaced it, phone went back to normal.

The larger sensor is the proximity sensor, not the smaller one that has a rubber cover over it, I think this one is the ambient light sensor to change the auto-brightness thing. You will need that plastic cover if you want better mounting but I've done iPhone 6 screens before without the plastic holders, I'm puzzled how they still work fine with proximity sensor to this day.

Resources

Repairability

Stay in the loop

It's time to speak out for your right to repair

We have a chance to guarantee our right to repair electronic
equipment—like smartphones, computers, and even farm equipment. This is a once-in-a-generation
chance to protect local repair jobs—the corner mom-and-pop repair shops that
keep getting squeezed out by manufacturers.

Join the cause and tell your state representative to support Right to Repair. Tell them you believe repair should be fair, affordable, and accessible. Stand up for your right to repair!